Chapter 16
Jake

Oh, wow. Cassie said in awe. It's so beautiful…
And it was. We were in a vast land of trees. They were the tallest, lushest trees I had ever seen. It was green, green, everywhere green! But it wasn't just trees. Other plants, dripping with water from a recent rain, towards the distant forest floor. There was a huge river, parting the forest. It was clearer than any river I had known.
It was amazing. Some sort of tropical rain forest, seemingly untouched. To the left, hills, with tall, green grass and enormous flowers. Like sunflowers, except the petals were a gentle blue.
How could any species even think to invade in such a beautiful place? Lani asked quietly.
That kind of brought me back to reality. Okay, we're not here to look at the scenery. We have to find out why we're here. We have to find our enemies and our allies, and we have to do it soon. Before our enemies find us first.
I hesitated a second. I'd gotten so used to being leader, I'd forgotten that half these guys weren't my team. Would the battle Senshi listen to me? Would they obey me in the heat of battle?
And then, the other thought. The one I felt the moment I saw the one called Amara. She was a leader. She could be the leader. And…I wouldn't have to be anymore. I could push it all off on her, the responsibility of the new team. I could just be Jake. Not big Jake, not Jake the leader, not Jake anything. Just Jake.
But how could I do that?
So? Rachel asked. How? Got a plan?
Everyone was silent for a second. We glided peacefully on the warm thermals billowing upward.
Um, excuse me? Kai broke the silence. I have an idea.
Kai...? Amara prompted.
Well…I…uh…I don't know how I know this, so don't even ask. But I think we'll find the answer back in the trees. Right down below us.
Twelve bird heads looked down.
What? Rachel demanded. I see nothing!
Just go with me on this...okay? Kai sounded embarassed.
Ahhh, I get it. Another one of your 'feelings'. Shinji said. So, down to the trees?
Feelings? I asked, confused.
Ah, well, let's just say Kai has very good instincts. To the trees!
The Battle Senshi spilled air from their wings and dived.
Shall we follow them, oh great leader? Marco asked.
Uh...to the trees!!
And we went.


Chapter 17
Shinji

We broke the canopy, and I perched on a thin branch. Light from in between the giant leaves of the canopy filtered down in nifty little patterns and lit the forest floor. Very. Cool.
What morph do you think would be our best bet for scoping this place out, Cassie? Jake asked.
Well, parrots are pretty well adapted to this habitat...
We have parrot morphs, I offered.
Okay. Parrots it is.
We all started to demorph. I wondered whether Amara was getting ticked off by this Jake guy giving all the orders. She'd never been a really bossy leader, but I know I'd be annoyed.
We all sat on various branches, high, high up in the trees. Fi and Ax went right into parrot morph.
Lani exhaled and leaned back against the tree the her branch was pretruding from. "Can't we just rest a little while? I've barely had any sleep!"
"Yeah. I was sleeping soundly, having this lovely little dream-when my phone rings. And when my phone rings at an ungodly hour, somehow I know I'm not getting any more sleep." Nichirasu pulled his hat down over his eyes.
"Hey, hey, hey wait a second." Cassie said, waving her hands about. "You're clothes! They didn't fall away! You morphed your clothing?"
"Well, yeah! Why wouldn't we be able to??" Lani sat up in surprise. "That would just be totally embarrassing if we couldn't!!"
The Animorphs looked at the parrot that was Ax. I- He began.
Allow me to explain. My eldest sister was a Morph Dancer. Special morphing cubes can be attained for those who practice the arts. I…borrowed her cube and this is the very same I used to allow my friends to acquire the morphing power.
"Borrowed?" Marco laughed. "That's great-"
Marco was cut off mid-sentence because at that very moment he was jumped on by a strange girl.
She had a knife.
"YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" He screamed.
The girl wrapped him arms around his waist from behind and leapt -yes, LEAPT-with him under her arm to a higher branch. She hopped from tree to tree until she was a safe distance from us.
"Marco!!" Rachel cried.
The girl stood with Marco, wriggling and cussing at her. He fought and fought. She kept him restrained with her mere arm. She pressed her knife-which looked like a sharpened bone-against his throat. He stopped fighting.
She snapped at us in a hard toungued language. She seemed infuriated. She yelled, over and over again the same thing.
What is she talking about?! Tobias asked in panic.
"Sounds like Egyptian! Maybe even Greek!!" Lani cried.
"Since when do you study foreign language?!" Nichirasu cried back.
She took the knife from Marco's throat and put him in a headlock. It looked really, really, painful. He made a noise much like an injured dog.
"Yeerk!" She spat.
No!! Fi interjected. No, we're not Yeerks!!
She looked around. Her eyes darted from side to side. So, she wasn't used to hearing thought speak. The girl loosened her grip on Marco for just a second.
Enough.
He flew backwards, and jumped. He frantically grabbed, and caught a branch. He hung, but then pulled his torso up over the branch, and breathed heavily.
The girl angrily waved her knife at us and yelled in her strange language.
The whole time, I was seriously disturbed by how much she looked like Princess Mononoke. Ever seen that movie? Remember how San moved? That's exactly how. Every motion was exaggerated with power. Every jerk of her head was hard and fast.
Okay, I have got it now! Fi cried.
Got what? Ax asked her. He was unbelievably calm.
My language translator just picked it up. She explained quickly. To the girl, Friend! I am and Andalite! We have come to aid you in your War against the Yeerks!
Her head jerked, and her oversized earrings glinted. Her fierce eyes locked on Fi. Eyes that were filled with hate.
Then, with one liquid movement of her arm, she took her sharp, bone knife and hurled it at Fi.
Fi let out a Parrot squak and jerked out of the way, seconds before the knife would have impaled her. Instead, it stuck, hard, into the tree.
"Andalite! HA!" The girl spat. Then, she launched herself upward, and flew from tree to tree. She disappeared in the canopy. Leaving us openmouthed, staring at her knife.


-More to come. I swear! Writers block...school...you know how it is.-